WASHINGTON -- With a second Congressional attempt to censor the
Internet all but certain, the American Civil Liberties Union,
Electronic Privacy Information Center and Electronic Frontier
Foundation today vowed yet another legal challenge if the measure
includes criminal penalties and fines for communicating protected
speech.

During last-minute budget negotiations, the Clinton Administration
reportedly objected to provisions of the bill pushed by Rep. Michael
Oxley, R-OH, citing a Justice Department analysis that it was
probably unconstitutional and would likely draw resources away from
more important law enforcement efforts. But negotiators apparently
failed to strike the Oxley language from the $500 billion Omnibus
Appropriations measure due to be voted on in both the House and
Senate and signed by the President tomorrow.

The ACLU, with EPIC and EFF acting as co-plaintiffs and
co-counsel, led the successful challenge to the Communications
Decency Act, which the Supreme Court struck down last year. The
groups said today that they anticipate filing a legal challenge as
early as next week, on behalf of a diverse range of online speakers
representing news organizations, gay and lesbian groups, artists,
musicians, booksellers and any websites that distributed the Starr
report.

"It's deja vu all over again," said Ann Beeson, Staff Attorney for
the ACLU and a member of the Reno v. ACLU legal team that led the
fight against a 1996 federal Internet law. "Just like the CDA, this
bill will once again criminalize socially valuable adult speech and
reduce the Internet to what is considered suitable for a
six-year-old."

David Sobel, EPIC's General Counsel, said, "This law violates both
the free speech rights and the privacy of Internet users. It
requires, in effect, that any adult wishing to receive
constitutionally protected material must register with a website
before receiving information."

"The Supreme Court has, on several occasions, said that such
procedures violate the First Amendment," Sobel added. "We are
confident that the courts will continue to protect the right of all
Americans to receive information without sacrificing their privacy."

Barry Steinhardt, President of the Electronic Frontier Foundation,
agreed. "It is the height of irony that the same Congress that
plastered the salacious Starr Report all over the Internet now passes
a plainly unconstitutional law to suppress a vaguely defined category
of "harmful" material. You would think Congress would have learned
that "harmfulness" is in the eye of the beholder."